A shovel-ready wall

Photo by David Molnar / The RepublicanChicopee Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette with the collection of shovels in his City Hall office.

Just call him "Shovel Man."

It was always hard not to notice the collection of shovels and hard hats that cluttered Chicopee Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette's office in City Hall. Now, it's really hard not to miss them ever since his staff asked the City Hall maintenance crew to neatly display the nine shovels and eight hard hats on the mayor's office wall.

"That's what I'm being called now, shovel man," Bissonnette said. "They decided they were going to memorialize shovel man on the wall."

The shovels represent a myriad of groundbreaking events on various projects, such as the new CVS being built on Center Street, the new Holyoke Catholic High School and Westover Air Park West.

Happy birthday to Taj Mahal - the blues guitarist, not the mausoleum in India.

The two-time Grammy winner, who grew up in Springfield as Henry Fredericks, will receive an honorary doctorate when American International College in Springfield holds its commencement on May 17.

That also happens to be Taj's birthday. He will be 67.

(The other Taj is 3½ centuries old.)

Known for his blues guitar, Taj is also scheduled to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame this month.

He studied agriculture at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

After graduating in 1964, he moved to Los Angeles and started his band, the Rising Sons.

Reading aloud really paid off

Robert B. Parker

Robert B. Parker, the Springfield boy who made good writing books, including the Spenser series, said it all started when he was a boy.

He told the New York Post that it all started when his father started reading to him "'Winnie the Pooh,' 'Uncle Remus,' the frontier novels of Joseph Altshuler. When I grew too big to sit on his lap, I read these to myself," he recalls.

Can't we just get along?
At a recent Candidates Night in Wilbraham, Robert L. Page, head of the Concerned Citizens of Wilbraham which sponsored the Candidates Night, argued for civility.

"Treat our guests with respect and dignity," Page said. "We are glad they are taking time out of their day to run for office and serve their community."

Oh, the places you will go!
Some 60 employees of Square One discovered some of the joys of life in Springfield. As part of National Walk at Lunch Day on April 29, they collectively walked more than 110 miles during their lunch breaks.

They were outfitted with pedometers donated by TD Insurance so they could keep track of their efforts as they traveled through the neighborhoods in the areas they serve.

As a group, the employees see a lot of "first steps" among those they serve as infants and toddlers in early childhood education, but, in this case, some of them took their own "first steps" toward a more healthy lifestyle, which was among the goals of the program.

And, one, Kimberly A. Lee, got to celebrate a special day - her birthday.

Theodores' haunts new DVD
A downtown Springfield bar's appearance on the SciFi Channel series "Ghost Hunters" has made an uncredited appearance on DVD.

"Hometown Haunts," featuring Theodores' nightclub, is a surprise extra on a new direct-to-DVD "Battlestar Galactica" prequel, "Caprica." The DVD, produced by the SciFi Channel, included the Theodores' episode under its bonus features.

Springfield stamped out
The cost of a first-class postage stamp goes up from 42 cents to 44 cents on Monday, and featured among the new stamps are characters from "The Simpsons."

There will be First-Day-of-Issue Dedication Ceremony in Los Angeles on May 7.

But, hey, isn't the Simpsons about Springfield and, of course, isn't this their Home(r)?

Can someone get Matt Groening to come to the City of Homes for a First-Day-of-Issue Dedication?

Where are all the people?

Iris Cardin

A discussion of lack of resident involvement in local government at a recent Palmer Charter Commission public hearing had commissioners and residents discussing how busy people's lives have become and how little time townspeople have to give back to their community. Iris Cardin, a supporter of returning to having a selectmen-Town Meeting form of government, seemed frustrated that only 11 people had turned out for the hearing when 1,200 people signed the petition to get the question on the ballot.

"I can't believe the apathy. We had three or four people we were sure that would come and they didn't come," Cardin said. Commission Chairman Paul E. Burns asked for ideas of how to get people to get involved.

In fact, an array of snacks and desserts had been prepared by the Pathfinder Vocational Technical High School's food service students and served at an early April meeting with town department heads, but no one made a move to take a bite during the meeting. However, Pathfinder Superintendent Gerald Paist brought "to go" containers out at the end of the meeting and not a single canoli was left once town employees filled their containers

What's $700 million?
Legislators on Beacon Hill are grateful that they don't hear every week from Alan Clayton-Matthews, an economist and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

During a hearing on the poor economy, Clayton-Matthews carved $700 million from his estimate for tax collections for the fiscal year starting July 1. He said he cut his estimate from a projection made the prior week.

"I don't want to see you next week," said Sen. Steven C. Panagiotakos, D-Lowell.

Don't miss The Republican tomorrow for Cries & Whispers on Canda geese making their home in Chicopee, a parking shortage that was positive in Holyoke, state Rep. Donald F. Humason Jr.'s home budget cuts, and other items too interesting to ignore. Reach us at cries@repub.com